London has been battered by 50mph winds that have felled trees and caused travel chaos. Powerful gusts swept across the capital as the Met Office issued a yellow "be aware" weather alert for most of the country.

Frontline Met officers are still using “excessive force” and “abusing their authority” in a number of stop and search cases, a police watchdog ruled today.

The Met’s Territorial Support Group is criticised for “unlawful arrests” and generating a “high proportion of complaints arising from unplanned stop and search encounters”. An Independent Police Complaints Commission review of complaints against TSG officers found better training and “intrusive supervision” had reduced complaints significantly in recent years.

But it found there were “still instances of excessive force and abuse of authority, including unlawful arrests”.

The IPCC followed a high number of allegations against TSG officers. The study found that 15 complaints were dealt with directly by the IPCC and 12 of these were referred to the Crown Prosecution Service. Seven charges were brought. Two officers were convicted and two dismissed.